True-Point#11 applies to some and not everybody. It’s valid if you are an individual contributor or manager level. A Director or higher shouldn’t really be flipping burgers or working 50+ hours at it
I think volunteering would have been a better idea-at your local church or community center-maybe a few hours a week just to get out of the house (to avoid cabin fever) and network.

You’re right that looking for a job while working full-time is not a good idea.

The reason I didn’t like what this horrible speaker said was that the way he said it, along with other things in the hour he spoke to us, indicated he thought we should spend out time at a low paying job just to get out… I’ve seen job seekers do that and they are too exhausted at the end of a 50 hour work week to do anything in a real job search. The more executive you are, the harder it is to miss opportunities that you’ll miss for your $6/hour job.

But hey, really, everyone needs to make that choice for themselves

#2 – always use large font – the way he said it leads into Greg’s response, above. How large is large? 24? 32? 72? The funnier thing, though, was he said that most (insinuating “all”) hiring managers are (a) OLD (over 45) and (b) half-blind. The presentation was full of this type of generalization and discrimination.

#3 – I had a hard time believing people in the room hadn’t asked themselves if they were looking for a gov’t job or a private industry job. He clearly differentiated the two, and his comment about how the gov’t likes to hire status quo really struck me. He was saying if you want to make something of your life, work for private industry. If you don’t, and you are a slouch, the gov’t will take you – it already has employed a number of other good-for-nothing schmucks.

#4 – I have never, ever seen a narrative-form resume. I’ve never seen a resume without bullet points. Talk about knowing your audience… this piece of advice was so out of place. It was like “make sure that, after you wake up in the morning, you open your eyes and get out of bed.” I’ve never since heard this piece of advice… isn’t it assumed? Like: print your resume on paper, not an envelope. That’s assumed….

#6 – his whole point here was to talk about your hobbies. He wanted to know if you like to pet dogs, breed birds, walk in the park, etc. It sounded like he wanted this to be a significant part of the resume and interview… yuck!

I can actually get behind 2, 3, 4, & 6.

#2 — I hate it when I see a resume written in size 8 or 9 font. Really? If you have to use tiny fonts, it’s because you don’t know how to edit your pages down and you are trying to squeeze a bunch of crap in that doesn’t belong.

#3 — Knowing your intended audience is important.

#4 — I agree that no one wants to read a resume that is in a narrative format.

#6 — Saying you get along with people is assumed. I don’t think you should talk about hobbies or sports though. You should use specific examples like, “I see projects through to successful completion” and then back it up with a story (e.g. “three other temps were brought in before I was hired and all three were let go…I was the first to get it done right” or something like that).